Fire behaviour of a Carbon/Nomex honeycomb sandwich composite used in aircraft interior

Abstract

Fire behaviour of a carbon/Nomex honeycomb composite, used as ceiling panel in aircraft interiors, was investigated in Cone Calorimeter at different incident heat fluxes, ranging from 20 to 70 kW/m2. The material exhibited good fire performance with relatively low amount of heat release and long ignition times. Combustion of the material at 40 kW/m2 proceeded in one stage, while at higher heat fluxes two stages were observed. The burning mechanisms and char formation during thermal decomposition at different heat fluxes was also examined. The long tail after flame-out in heat release curves and the significant increase of CO production and mass loss were analysed with respect to char residue.